Stars possess charisma. That is what makes them stars and makes them stand out from the crowd. But how do charismatic personalities use body language? Is their use of it what makes them stars? If it is, can the rest of us learn how to become stars?
Certainly, body language must be an important factor. Our everyday experience tells us that there are many good singers, good actors, good dancers, and good comedians, but only a few of them become stars. Clearly, luck plays a part - you have to be in the right place at the right time. But body language is also crucial.
Charisma is difficult to define, but it seems to be a quality that some people have which draws others' eyes to them, which makes people defer to them and which causes them to be raised on to a pedestal in the popular mind. It is most common in leaders (whether political or otherwise), entertainers and sports personalities. But it is present to some degree in many of the people you meet in the course of an average day. The old man in the pub who is a 'bit of a character' has charisma. So does the captain of the school soccer team whom the girls have a crush on. So does the guard on the train who chats to her passengers over the public address system and at the end of the journey commends them to the safe-keeping of the Almighty.
As far as their use of body language is concerned, charismatic individuals will be dominant rather than submissive. Stars (even the stars of everyday life) will be high on gaze and mutual gaze, or eye contact. For some stars it is the most important aspect of body language. They love to look and, especially, to be looked at. They blossom in the limelight of others' attention. They feed upon it and thrive upon it. They look around at their audiences. They use anticipatory scanning when moving through a crowd of fans. Stars smile and grin a great deal Their facial expressions are always fast-changing and expressive. Either that or, perhaps in the case of some pop singers, they are sullen, with lowered brows and a seductive expression.
A common head movement with stars is to toss the head back wards. It often occurs at pauses in songs or when taking the audience's applause. If they have long hair, it is quite a dramatic gesture. In the case of teenage idols, it can on its own provoke squeals of delight from the fans, as can many other body movements. The head is often tilted back, as if to allow everyone as clear a view of it as possible.
Gestures are important to a star. They must be open and the hands are frequently palm up with the arms stretching out as if to embrace the audience. Palm-up or palm-outwards gestures of various kinds and an avoidance of closed, defensive gestures help, as it were, to bring the audience into the interaction: their
163
1
!!!.!
g.
1 64 role a s receivers might make them passive and therefore less likely to applaud unless they were brought in in this way. Gestures are often self-manipulative - stroking the hair, picking pieces of fluff off the clothing, straightening clothes - and may even be overtly sexual in nature.
Posture tends to be upright with some forward lean. Very often one arm is extended with the hand palm up and the other hand is on the hip. Proximity is not usually close, except when moving through fans, though television close-ups can give the illusion of proximity. Orientation towards the audience will usually be direct and stems from an old convention in the theatre that, as in teaching, you never turn your back on your audience. Orientation in situations like television chat shows may be asymmetrical and indirect as there is usually an attempt to create a relaxing and informal atmosphere in which interviewees will disclose more about themselves than they might otherwise.
Bodily contact is infrequent. Stars are nearly always people you look at but do not touch This may be part of the reason why pop fans will often go to great lengths to get close enough to touch their idols.
Appearance is almost always highly attractive or highly unusual. If stars looked like chartered accountants or shop assistants, it would be more difficult for us to put them on their pedestals. For this kind of reason, they are often more heavily made up and their style of dress is both colourful and fashionable.
Their timing and synchronization are sharp and dominant. They talk a lot and often in a fast, breathy, 'mid-Atlantic' accent. They especially like to talk about themselves and their successes. This may seem to provide a stereotypical picture of a star, which is unfortunate - stars are, by definition, individuals. There have to be things about them which distinguish them from others. That must be remembered. All we can do here is highlight some of the aspects of body language which accompany star quality. You do not have to practise them all before you can become a star.